Seared Tuna Tacos.
Warm street-size flour tortillas topped with Asian slaw, seared soy ginger marinated ahi tuna, seaweed salad, avocado, sliced scallions and wasabi mayo. These Asian-inspired tacos are a tuna and seaweed salad lovers dream.
The great thing about tacos is that there is no wrong way to taco. Right? There are flour or corn tortillas, appetizer or main dish or dessert tacos, veggie or beef or chicken tacos – and then, not surprisingly, our favorite tacos: seafood tacos. I’m talking lobster tacos with scallion butter, pan fried fish tacos, and now, let’s add these Seared Tuna Tacos to the list of favorite taco types, shall we?
One of the best things about these tacos (well, except for that gorgeous fresh tuna!) is the seaweed salad. Notice anything about it? It’s not fluorescent green. Why? This seaweed salad is from Atlantic Sea Farms in Maine (ohhhh Maine, how we love you. we secretly wish we could live in Maine, but it’s just tooooo cold). The kelp (seaweed) is rope grown in the cold, clean waters of the Gulf of Maine. It’s never dyed.
A few fun facts about seaweed:
The majority of seaweed on the market (98%!) is grown in Asia. Most of that is dried and dyed. We love seaweed salad, so when we heard about this version that is cultivated and harvested close to home, we had to try it. And gosh. It is just so. much. better. It’s clean tasting, healthy, and rich in probiotics, antioxidants and other essential nutrients with no coloring/dyes added.
Looks different from the “other” stuff, doesn’t it? Now, we just need to work on the articial colors added to pickled ginger and wasabi (wasabi in the US is typically a combination of horseradish, mustard and food coloring … it’s not real wasabi at all). Though we have found a pickled ginger that we love from The Ginger People.
Kelp provides an excellent source of iodine, a nutrient that supports healthy thyroid function and metabolism. This seaweed salad has all the flavors of the seaweed salad you know and love – ginger, sesame, soy, garlic. It goes perfectly with this fresh tuna.
How do you make these fresh tuna tacos?
- First, make the Asian slaw, which is a simple mixture of thinly sliced green cabbage, mayo, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, salt and pepper. Put the slaw in the fridge to chill.
- Then, marinate the sushi-grade tuna in a marinade of: soy sauce, rice vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, ginger, sriracha and scallions. Preheat the grill.
- Prepare all the fixins for the tacos: warm the tortillas, place the seaweed salad, pickled ginger, lime wedges and scallions in little bowls.
- Sear the tuna on both sides. Let cool just slightly then thinly slice.
- Assemble to tacos by adding slaw to the tortillas, then avocado, tuna, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, scallions, black sesame seeds and wasabi mayo.
- Serve tacos with more ginger, lime wedges and wasabi mayo.
We grilled the tuna, because we grill year-round. But, feel free to use your grill pan if you prefer to cook inside now that the weather’s turned.
What kind of tuna should I look for?
We used yellowfin tuna, also know as ahi tuna. The most important thing is to get the freshest tuna you can get your hands on. And you want sushi grade tuna – which basically means it’s fresh enough that you can eat it raw. Sure, you can use frozen if you prefer, just make sure it’s sushi grade and be sure to thaw it in the fridge overnight and pat it very dry before searing. If there’s too much moisture you won’t get the nice sear on the tuna.
We get our local yellow fin tuna from our favorite local fish market, The Clam Man. It’s the freshest and best tuna we’ve ever had – well, except for the tuna the neighbors gave us one year which was just hours old. If you’re not a fan of tuna, try any other fish. Salmon would be amazing. Swordfish and shrimp too.
Here’s how to make these Seared Tuna Tacos:
Seared Tuna Tacos
Ingredients
For the slaw
- 1/2 green cabbage slivered
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 finger-tip sized pieces of ginger root peeled and finely minced, divided (reserve half for the marinade)
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the tuna
- 1 pound sushi grade ahi tuna
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, white parts only Save the green parts for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Reserved ginger from above
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
For serving
- Flour tortillas warmed, we used street taco size
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
- Seaweed Salad from Atlantic Sea Farms
- Wasabi mayo or sriracha mayo
- Black sesame seeds
- Reserved scallions, green parts
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Combine all slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Chill until ready to serve.
- Add tuna, soy sauce, rice vinegar, scallions, olive oil, toasted sesame oil, honey, ginger and sriracha to a large resealable bag. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat grill to high heat. Clean and oil grates.
- Grill tuna for 1-2 minutes on each side, just to sear. Or, cook until desired doneness. Remove from heat.
- Slice tuna thinly against the grain.
- Assemble tacos by adding slaw to each tortilla, then tuna, avocado, seaweed salad, wasabi mayo, black sesame seeds and scallions.
- Serve with additional wasabi mayo and lime wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
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